What is Cold Ironing of Ships?

Cold-ironing is a method used to provide shore-supplied electricity to the ship in order to reduce diesel engine emission from ships while they are in port. While the ship is berthing, its auxiliary engines are used for lighting, heating, hot water, air conditioning etc. These operations consume a large amount of diesel and heavy oil, generating harmful exhaust fumes, noise and vibrations. Moreover, emissions from shipping fuel not only affect the whole environment but also impact the health of port workers, on-board personnel, and the inhabitants of port cities.

Cold ironing, also known as alternative marine power system or shore to ship power supply is beneficial because it transfers the power production from the dirty shipboard sources to more environmentally friendly power plants, thus reducing the production of the toxic particulate matters. Moreover, it is proven that the cost of producing electricity on ship when it is at port is much higher than the cost of producing electricity on shore. Thus plugging ships to shore-based power when in port would not only reduce ship’s emissions and overhead costs, but would also reduce wear and tear of ship’s equipment. Click here to read a detailed article on ship to shore power.

The main question following cold ironing or shore to ship power supply is - how clean the shore-based electricity production process is? If shifting the power production from ship to shore increases the load on the power plant and increases the air emissions, then there is no point in using the technology.

Also, out of tankers, containers, and passenger ships, the latter two are best suited for cold ironing. This is because cruise liners and container ships remain at the port for more time as compared to tankers. However, if some passenger liners and container ships are irregular or infrequent at a port but are equipped with cold ironing facilities, then the cost of availing the facility would be much higher than producing power on board. The main reason for this is that the cost of fitting a cold ironing facility on a ship or a port is highly expensive.

Thus, cold-ironing is a feasible option only if the power production facility on shore uses environmentally friendly renewable resources. One more question that arises is whether there is sufficient grid power available for widespread cold ironing at all the major ports on the world.

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The Princess Cruises Company